YBI Awarded $451K to Advance Additive Manufacturing

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – A consortium led by the Youngstown Business Incubator is among five entities awarded grants totaling nearly $2 million from the state of Ohio’s Advanced Manufacturing Program Monday.

The program, administered by the Ohio Development Services Agency, is designed to help advance innovative methods of manufacturing across the state.

YBI and its partners received $451,300 toward deepening the expertise around metals casting and additive manufacturing, said Barb Ewing, the YBI’s CEO.

“It’s a great validation of our model,” she said.

The grant will be used to facilitate the use of additive manufacturing in sand core printing and other areas, Ewing said. The consortium includes YBI,faculty from Youngstown State University, Vallourec Star, 3D Printer Works, GE Additive in Cincinnati, and Humtown Products Inc.’s additive manufacturing center in Leetonia.

“This is a way to advance 3D technology in partnership with Vallourec Star and GE,” said Stephanie Gaffney, director of additive manufacturing programs at the YBI.

GE, for example, is researching the viability of sensors embedded into sand cores made from the 3D printing process, Gaffney explained.

In addition to the YBI consortium, the state awarded $314,864 to Ohio University, $500,000 to the Edison Welding Institute in Columbus, $190,330 to the Center for Innovative Food and Technology in Toledo and $500,000 to Ohio State University.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.